The Monkey Island series is revered for its humor, creative and challenging puzzles, and charming characters. For the uninitiated, the Monkey Island games are adventure/puzzlers following the story of plucky wannabe pirate Guybrush Threepwood. After besting the ghost pirate LeChuck and winning over the lovely Governor Elaine Marley in the Secret of Monkey Island, Threepwood has fallen out of Elaine's good graces and decides to pursue the fabled treasure of Big Whoop.

The first Monkey Island SE was simply a re-skinned version of the original game with a few minor additions. The newest offering features re-worked controls that make it easy for console gamers and newcomers unfamiliar with the SCUMM menu to play. PC players still navigate the world with the standard point and click controls, but in Special Edition mode right clicking on an object or a person launches a wheel of the most appropriate actions. For example, if you clicked on Wally the Cartographer you'd only see "Look, Pick Up, Talk To" as options. "Pick Up" may seem like a strange choice, but choosing it produces a witty line about wrestling the monocle wearing mapmaker. The new control wheel successfully streamlines the game without removing the amusingly absurd choices.